UH Mānoa joins $3.5M multi-state cervical cancer screening study

February 6, 2026

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa is part of a new $3.5 million multi-state project to improve cervical cancer screening and follow-up at primary care clinics in Hawaiʻi, Florida and Massachusetts. The Hawaiʻi portion, led by Holly Fontenot, associate dean for research and professor at the School of Nursing & Dental Hygiene and faculty member of the UH Cancer Center, is supported by a major five–year, R01 award from the National Institutes of Health.

The project, Development of Systems and Education for Cervical Cancer Prevention (DOSE–CC), will adapt, validate and test interventions designed to boost cervical cancer prevention and follow-up care across diverse populations.

Fontenot brings experience from her prior work in women’s health and HPV-associated cancer prevention, and is one of four multiple principal investigators collaborating with Boston Medical Center, Tufts University and the Moffitt Cancer Center. The Hawaiʻi research team also includes Komal Soin and Patty Tran from the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

“This award reflects the strength of our ongoing research partnerships and the importance of multidisciplinary teams working together to develop effective, sustainable and impactful multi-level interventions that help to transform the current paradigm in cancer screening and follow-up,” Fontenot said.

The project builds on previous studies, including Cervical Cancer: Provider Response and Options of Guidelines Related to Screening Strategies (CC PROGRESS), funded by the American Cancer Society, and DOSE–HPV, which successfully increased HPV vaccination rates.

By combining clinical research with community engagement, the project seeks to develop sustainable, effective interventions that can be scaled nationally — including across the U.S. Work on DOSE–CC is already underway and is expected to be completed by 2030.

This story was originally published by UH News.